Religion

488 tq LE'ITBRS IN CANADA: 1959 must fmd embodiment in cultural forms and that cultural forms must be animated by ultimate religious interests. If religion without culture is empty, culture without religion is blind." How many ofthe contributors, one wonders, would affirm the antecedent of this hypothetical? (T. A. GOUDGE) RELIGION The most significant and controversial book in religious writing published in Canada during I959 is that edited by A. G. Reynolds, Life and Death: A Study ofthe Christian Hope (The Board ofEvangelism and Social Service and the Board of Christian Education for the Committee on Christian Faith of the United Church of Canada, pp. I26, $.50). It is the product 01 five years of study by a large committee of theologians, under the guidance of D. M. Mathers of Queen's Theological College. The document is not an official statement by the United Church ofits eschatology, but it has received"general approval" as "worthy ofstudy in the church" by the Executive of the General Council. World War II revived an ecclesiastical interest in the concept of Christian hope throughout the world, but especially in Europe. In the years immediately after the war's end confessions of Dutch, Danish, and other churches appeared with strong eschatological overtones. The Evanston Assembly ofthe World Council of Churches of a few years ago had as its theme "The Christian Hope." The study document which now appears as the concentrated result of United Church reflection since Evanston days has justly brought out a great deal of comment and discussion . Matters concerning man's final destiny and his mysterious relations to the invisible order ofthe spiritual as well as those dealing with life, death, and the beyond are of increasing concern to modern churchmen . The statement betrays suspicions of certain traditional beliefs and some "departure from explicit teachings of the New Testament," with the result that thoughtful critiques by Anglicans, Presbyterians, and others have promoted a wide interest in this work. In The Other Six Days: The Christian Meaning of Work and Property (Burns and MacEachern, pp. x, I2I, $1.50), J. C. McLelland of Presbyterian College discusses the Christian concept of vocation. The book was written under the sponsorship of the Committee on the Laity of the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. HUMANITIES tq 489 There is a growing awareness on the part of the Church in Canada that it must speak to its members not only in the pew but also outside of it. McLelland's popular discussion is a successful attempt at translating the Church's message into a week-day one. Ryerson Press has continued its Saddlebag Books with two more titles by Canadian authors: The Bible and Christian Education (pp. x, 46, $1.00) by A. J. Ebbutt, and The Roman Letter Today (pp. vi, 77, $1.00) by A. L. Griffith. Both are well written, but overly popular and brief. Of some interest is a work by Ryerson's editor-in-chief, J. W. Grant, entitled God's People in India (pp. xiv, Il2, $3.00). Dr. Grant was Visiting Professor at the United College of South India and Ceylon for 1957-8. This book is the result ofhis reflections and observations ofthat year. Dr. Grant writes with an enthusiastic sympathy for the younger churches of India, and though this work can hardly be considered an authoritative statement on their nature and problems, it is one which reflects well on the mature judgment of its author. A final Ryerson publication is by J. M. Shaw, professor Emeritus of Queen's Theological College. In The Wonder ofthe Christian Gospel (pp. 143, $3.95), he has tried to crystallize the basic truths of Christianity into a short but comprehensive book intelligible to lay readers. One suspects, however, that the book is more comprehensible to the professional than to the layman. Such a statement as "He Himself, in virtue of His perfect sacrificial life and death, is our reconciliation, and through His continued and enduring presence and ministry at the Father's right hand our redemption is secured" desperately needs translation into non-professional language. F. W. Beare of Trinity College, Toronto, has written an excellent...